Kiwi music legend Neil Finn surprises the crowd with an impromptu performance at the Coatesville Sunday Market

Globally acclaimed Kiwi music legend Neil Finn stunned attendees of a Sunday Auckland market yesterday, playing a surprise performance with former Split Enz counterpart Eddie Rayner.

The former Crowded House singer took the stage at the Coatesville markets after requests from the organisers for him to perform.

Hundreds of people amassed to catch a glimpse of Finn, with a witness telling the Herald he played “all the bangers”.

“He was absolutely awesome. When people walked by and realised it was him they couldn’t believe it,” they said.

Former Split Enz keyboardist Rayner also joined Finn on stage in a blast from the past.

At the conclusion of his performance of Don’t Dream It’s Over, a member of the crowd yelled out to Finn and said “that was so much better than Bono!”, likely a reference to the Irishman’s renditions of the hit song, most recently on Sunday, as U2 play a run of shows at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

In reply, Finn laughed and said something about it being “such a Kiwi comment”.

Neil Finn did a surprise performance at the Coatesville Market.

A source said the organisers had reached out and asked Finn to perform, but never actually expected that he would do so.

“I’m sure they didn’t expect he would actually say yes,” said the source.

“He drew a big crowd.”

Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.